A new report from Bloomberg has stated that Netflix is looking at expanding its streaming offerings to the gaming sphere in the near future. As part of a new expansion beyond films and TV shows, the streaming juggernaut has hired Mike Verdu (a former Electronic Arts and Facebook executive) as its new vice president of game development. If that name sounds familiar, Verdu was responsible for bringing games to Facebook's Oculus platform and previously represented both the Medal of Honor and Command & Conquer series for EA.
Considering that competition in the game streaming space is starting to heat up, it makes sense that Netflix would want a piece of the pie. The service was likely always destined for the big time, but it got a huge push thanks to an agreement with Microsoft back in 2008 that saw it deployed as an app for the Xbox 360. With special discounts for members of Xbox Live Gold, Netflix suddenly had a huge market of people streaming for the first time. It made the brand a household name practically overnight, not to mention gave a big boost of sales to Microsoft.
It's too early to tell if Netflix will get into original game development or simply do exclusivity deals like with Google's Stadia and Amazon's Luna services. It may also be too little too late as many are flocking to Microsoft's own Xbox Game Pass, a service that doesn't solely rely on streaming, but offers a traditional download model alongside it. I think brand recognition will help propel Netflix to big numbers, especially if it strikes some kind of package deal with film streaming.
Whatever the case, it seems that big corporations aren't waiting until internet infrastructure catches up across the globe. Our future may be turning all-digital before we know it, which is certainly scary. As long as Netflix adopts a model similar to GameFly, where you can opt for physical discs sent in the mail in addition to streaming, I think most people won't have a problem. Then again, that does nothing for owners of the PS5 Digital or Xbox Series S, which do not feature optical disc drives.